Manchester City 2 Bolton 0: Balotelli atones for nightclub escapade

There was no celebration nor
T-shirt message this time. But Mario
Balotelli eventually rewarded
Roberto Mancini's decision to pick
him with a goal that confirmed
City's five-point lead at the top of
the Premier League.

Balotelli, who is indulged by Mancini
like no other, seriously upset his
manager with an unauthorised visit
to a strip club in the early hours of
Friday morning when he should
have been tucked up in bed asleep
or sipping a cup of cocoa.

The manager, who will speak to and then fine his fellow Italian for the latest in a long line of misdemeanours, played him anyway in order to give David Silva and Sergio Aguero a rest after midweek international duty.

And with his eighth attempt on goal, Balotelli finally found the net to add to a first-half own goal that scarcely did justice to dominant City.

'Mario played well, he had a lot of chances,' said Mancini before delivering his punchline. 'Maybe if he could go to sleep earlier, he would have scored three of four.'

The manager said he would speak to Balotelli before imposing a punishment for his visit to a risqué nightspot just 36 hours before an important game.

On the run: City's Samir Nasri

He added: 'This is Mario. I will talk
to him on Sunday and, if this story is
true, he will be fined the maximum
we can. It is not correct behaviour,
not just for him but for the team. It
is not professional to be out at two
o'clock in the morning so soon
before a game.'

At least Balotelli kept his eyes
open long enough to score the goal
that sealed City's 19th home win in
a row, equalling a Premier League
record set by Manchester United.

He had already hit the post and been foiled by keeper Adam Bogdan among seven earlier efforts before Adam Johnson embarked on a mazy dribble and backheeled the ball to his grateful team-mate to score from four yards.

Just wide: Mario Balotelli fires an effort past the past

'It just shows the elite players
Manchester City have at their
disposal. They could fill two or three
teams with quality,' grimaced beaten
manager Owen Coyle, whose side
remain stubbornly in the bottom
three.

City knew they could strike a psychological
blow against title rivals United, who visit Tottenham today, and flew out the traps against Bolton's strugglers.

Off target: Mario Balotelli avoids the attentions of Tim Ream

Improbably, the home side had
four great chances in the opening
three minutes, Balotelli striking the
upright then prodding wide, and
Samir Nasri foiled by Bogdan and a
David Wheater block.

Given the quality of their play, it
was ironic that their breakthrough
goal after 23 minutes was a bit of a
fluke. Left-back Gael Clichy tried a
speculative long-range shot born out
of frustration and could not believe
his luck as Gretar Steinsson stooped
to clear and watched in horror as
the ball cannoned off his head past
Bogdan for an own goal.

Fizzing effort: Yaya Toure has an attempt on goal

With victory in sight, all eyes
stayed on Balotelli for the remainder of the game. The 21-year-old Italian twice called loudly for a penalty as Zat Knight first grabbed his shirt and then shoved him over in separate incidents.

Thankfully for City, Balotelli's protests were restricted to gestures rather than clobbering anyone. In front of goal, he could not have been more wayward had he left his boots in a strip joint but even he could not miss in the 69th minute, when Johnson dribbled around Sam Ricketts and Knight and set the striker up from a few yards.

Down and out: David Pizarro feels the force of a heavy challenge

Balotelli deserved the goal for his
impressive all-round performance
and work ethic. A bizarre third City
goal was avoided when Darren Pratley
struck his own crossbar from 25
yards as he tackled substitute Edin
Dzeko.

City's victory means they are the
first team since the 1907 Newcastle
United side to win their first 14
home games. But Mancini is still unable to relax.

Stopped in his tracks: Nigel Reo-Coker halts the progress of Samir Nasri

United can cut their
lead back to two points at White
Hart Lane this afternoon and the
City boss said: 'I will probably watch
it but I think we all know the result,
don't we?

'I think United will win. I have
always said to win the championship
we need to win our next 10 games.'
Joe Hart kept his 16th clean sheet
of the season, making a great save
from Ryo Myaichi along the way.

The one downside was the sight of
Pablo Zabaleta limping off with a
hamstring injury after 18 minutes.
'I had to play him because Micah
[Richards] was injured. Now we
have a problem,' said Mancini.